
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially known as “Superstorm Sandy”) was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history. Classified as the eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane and second major hurricane of the year, Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak intensity when it made landfall in Cuba. While it was a Category 2 storm off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record (as measured by diameter, with winds spanning 1,100 miles (1,800 km). Estimates as of March 2014 assess damage to have been over $68 billion (2013 USD), a total surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina. At least 286 people were killed along the path of the storm in seven countries.
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June 3, 2026
Following the severe storms and flooding in Central Texas in July 2025, the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute-Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (MCI-SCRI), with the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (CHML) and [...]
June 2, 2026
In partnership with the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute-Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (MCI-SCRI) and with the support of the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, Cultural Emergency Response (CER) launched their “Supporting Heritage at Risk” manual. It encompasses [...]
May 27, 2026
The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield was saddened to learn of the severe damage to and destruction of cultural property and institutions in Kyiv following Russia's recent missile strikes. The Art Newspaper reported on the [...]

